Manly’s Dylan Walker says he won’t back down from sledging Penrith ahead of elimination final

MANLY centre Dylan Walker has dared Penrith to try to exact revenge on him, declaring he has no intention of stopping sledging ahead of Saturday night’s NRL elimination final.

MANLY centre Dylan Walker has dared Penrith to try to exact revenge on him, declaring he has no intention of stopping sledging ahead of Saturday night’s NRL elimination final.

Walker set up fiery return encounter at Allianz Stadium by blaming Penrith — not himself — for starting the verbal on-field war.

Panthers players blasted Walker’s sledging last weekend at Brookvale Oval, adamant there would be a good old-fashioned square-up this Saturday.

Not that their threat seemed to concern Walker.

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Walker rides his skateboard to Manly training. (AAP Image/Dean Lewins)

“I come in this morning and that’s what the boys told me. What can you do man? It’s a competitive sport. If they want to put one on me, I’m more than happy to,” Walker said.

“I like the confrontation. I just don’t want people telling me who I should be.

“They can look at it as motivation, I think most teams would. I’m going to keep playing the way I play.”

The Manly and former NSW centre had running battles with several Panthers, most notably Trent Merrin, and Walker said he even gave Penrith an opportunity at retaliation.

“I feel like I gave them a fair chance to get back at me at some stage,” Walker said. “And I didn’t shy away from the challenge, I carted the ball out of my own end and we were lucky enough to get a penalty.

The Sea Eagles centre isn’t backing down. Photo. Phil Hillyard

“If I am going to give it I have to give them an opportunity to give it.

“I think it is just pure competitiveness. People always tell you how you should be — I’m not going to be something that someone tells me to be.

“I enjoy a bit of confrontation like that. People can use that as motivation but I can’t shy away from it if I’m going to be one of those cheeky fellas.

“If I’m going to give it, I have to be able to take it. I’m just going to be who I am. I just don’t want people telling me who I should be.”

Walker claimed Penrith initiated the sledging drama.

“I don’t think I started anything, it was a bit more of those guys, they said little things to me when I ran the ball,” Walker said.

“And when they did something I got into them — that’s just how it goes. I took it to the next step, in the heat of the moment those things happen.

“It escalated pretty quickly.”

The Sea Eagles centre isn’t backing down. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Panthers prop Reagan Campbell-Gillard this week took aim Walker.

“We probably did let him get to us — there were little things on the field that made us see red,” he conceded. “You can have that confidence to spray a team or players when you’re leading 28-0. Whoop-de-do, he did it.”

A cocky Walker was unfazed by Campbell-Gillard’s spray.

“They are entitled to say what they want. They are probably a bit fired up which they are entitled to be in the finals,” Walker said.

“That’s just how I play, that’s just my football. Just play hard and competitive, I’m going to keep playing the way I play.”

Walker wasn’t prepared to reveal what he said on the field last weekend — or who he sprayed.

“It was a bit of banter, whatever I say on the field gets left on there,” he said. “I don’t like to bring it back into the media.

“There was a couple of people it was directed at. They had a couple of words to say and I thought I can get one back at them.

“I think it was just in the heat of the moment, that’s what happens when you are playing football. You are out on the field and things happen so quickly.

“It probably got the better of me at that moment. Whatever comes off the back of it comes off comes the back of it.

“This is competitive sport and I like the confrontation — there’s not too much of it these days I don’t think. You go out there and everyone likes to say those cliched things about the team. If you are going to give it you’ve got to learn how to take it.”